Uma actually tolerated wearing the hat (for a little while).

posted by Ketan @ 12/31/2005 09:55:00 AM   0 comments

Santa forgot his hat! And now it's mine!

posted by Ketan @ 12/30/2005 09:44:00 AM   0 comments

Anti-gravity hair.

posted by Ketan @ 12/29/2005 11:11:00 AM   0 comments

Our little big girl in the Christmas dress her Grandma made for her.

posted by Ketan @ 12/28/2005 10:19:00 AM   1 comments

Examining Grandma's Christmas tree.

posted by Ketan @ 12/27/2005 09:35:00 AM   0 comments

I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay river lake, wasting time...


Just sittin' on the dock of the bay, watchin' the tide roll away...

posted by Ketan @ 12/26/2005 08:44:00 AM   1 comments

Uma says "Merry Christmas!"

posted by Ketan @ 12/25/2005 11:56:00 AM   1 comments

Whoa... I can see Daddy's brain.

posted by Ketan @ 12/24/2005 09:51:00 AM   0 comments

This morning, we were having Family Breakfast (tm). Uma was playing with Favorite Toy #7 (white plastic measuring cup, 3/4 C) after having finished off her barley cereal, and I was my usual charming and droll self. Mommy laughed. Uma decided that something funny happened. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she didn't want to be left out, so she laughed along. I continued with the witticisms. I laughed. Mommy laughed. Uma laughed. She's a happy girl. That's how she tolerates my one and only trick: when she's on the changing table, I put a (dry) washcloth over her face. She snatches it off, and we smile. It's my only trick. She's on to me now, but she still thinks it's good fun.

Besides barley cereal and washcloth peek-a-boo, Uma's also picked up a new sound: da. Da. Da. Da. Da. She really likes to say it. Every now and then, she sneaks out a mangled "ka" as well. Da. Da. It's a good time.

Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 12/23/2005 10:46:00 AM   0 comments

Whoa. Daddy has big feet. I hope mine won't be that big.

posted by Ketan @ 12/22/2005 09:54:00 AM   2 comments

Now watch with amazement as La Puma Fantastica eats this whole rattle.

posted by Ketan @ 12/21/2005 08:04:00 PM   0 comments

Oooooooh... shiny.

posted by Ketan @ 12/20/2005 09:29:00 AM   0 comments

You like sea food? SEE! FOOD!

posted by Ketan @ 12/19/2005 09:36:00 AM   0 comments

See how big my mouth is? I betcha I can eat that post...

Hmmm... I hope we weren't betting anything major.

posted by Ketan @ 12/18/2005 08:45:00 AM   1 comments

Maybe if I close my eyes, you'll think I'm asleep and stop bothering me.

Oh, bummer. You're still here.

posted by Ketan @ 12/17/2005 10:31:00 AM   1 comments

I sure hope some of that got in her mouth.

posted by Ketan @ 12/16/2005 10:16:00 AM   0 comments

I'm flying! Again!

posted by Ketan @ 12/15/2005 09:16:00 AM   0 comments

No, this outfit just doesn't go at all. Especially the hat. That's just silly.

posted by Ketan @ 12/14/2005 09:28:00 AM   1 comments

The Puma is 8 months old today. Things have been a little tricky lately. I think she knew when I posted her schedule, because she's been working hard to deviate from it. Her naps during the day have shrunk to the point that she might wake up 20 minutes after going down. She's also waking up more frequently at night; last night, she woke up at 9:30pm, 2:20am, and 5:30am. We're applying all of our brain power to figuring out what's wrong, but sleep-addled minds don't think so well. Ah, to go back to those glorious days in October...

Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 12/13/2005 04:19:00 PM   0 comments

All the rings are gone. What do I do now?

posted by Ketan @ 12/12/2005 09:05:00 AM   0 comments

She's gonna need more teeth before she can eat that.

posted by Ketan @ 12/11/2005 08:10:00 AM   0 comments

Spoooooooooon!

posted by Ketan @ 12/10/2005 11:07:00 AM   0 comments

Thinking.

posted by Ketan @ 12/09/2005 08:31:00 AM   1 comments

Remember my feet? I bring them on walks, too.

posted by Ketan @ 12/08/2005 10:21:00 AM   0 comments

Whee!

posted by Ketan @ 12/07/2005 09:22:00 AM   0 comments

Daddy likes this picture of Mommy. Me, I like the grass.

posted by Ketan @ 12/06/2005 08:54:00 AM   0 comments

Uma has added oatmeal to her menu. She seems to like it better than rice cereal. Green beans are in the pipeline as her next food. She seems to understand what's going on a lot better than before; it looks like we're past the "training" part of solid foods and now moving into just plain eating. Hopefully, that's a harbinger of sleeping through the night again. Now that she's well again, she mainly wakes up in the night due to hunger.

Her dexterity and coordination have improved. She's starting to do the pincher grasp, which is using the thumb and index finger to grab at things. Her fine motor skills are stronger as well; yesterday, she was pulling at the whiskers on her stuffed tiger puma. She's been able to pass things from one hand to another for a while, and is slowly learning how to pick up more awkward items with both hands at once. She hasn't toppled over while sitting down in weeks. Uma's bouncy bucking is, if anything, more energetic. If you say "bouncy bouncy bouncy" and bounce, she'll often happily mimic the motion.

Uma's learned to clap her feet together. She doesn't do her hands, but she'll smack the soles of her feet together. We think she learned that from Jessica doing the "Kissy Feet" move from the "Baby Yoga" book. She also does this thing where she'll hold her right fist out and tap it with her left fist. Sometimes, she does that while holding her rings or other toys to knock them together. Uma also will thump her chest with her right hand repeatedly. We're not really sure what's going on with either of those things. She's a funny girl.

I thought you'd be interested in knowing what an average day in the life of the Puma looks like:

8:00am: Wake up and play
8:45am: Breakfast, followed by more play time
9:30am: Nap
11:30am: Go out and see the world, or more solid food followed by play time
1:30pm: Nap time
3:00pm: Go out for a walk, another errand, or just hang out at home.
5:30pm: Bath time!
6:00pm: Naked time (and massage)
6:25pm: Reading
6:40pm: Last nursing before bed time
7:00pm: Asleep
Anytime between 11:30pm and 5:00am: Late night snack (meal, really; she's a hungry girl).

Her daily routine has been something like this since the late summer. We used to put her to sleep about 20-30 minutes later, but eventually, we realized that the reason she was usually cranky around that time was because we were keeping her up too late. During the blessed weeks she slept through the night, she would wake up closer to 7:00am, but make up for it with a longer morning nap. Her afternoon nap has been pretty hit-or-miss for a few months, as she just didn't want to sleep (but really needed it). Thankfully, it's stabilized in the last week or so. The morning nap tends to be about 90 minutes, with an hour-long afternoon nap, but it's not unusual for either to go as much as twice as long or as little as half as long, assuming she does the afternoon nap at all. The duration of the nap doesn't matter so much as long as she wakes up naturally. It's easy to tell if she had enough based on how she wakes up; if it's sudden and angry, then she didn't get enough, while if she wakes up and starts talking to herself, it was a good one.

Note that most days don't fit this schedule, but pretty much every day looks a lot like it. The times are pretty approximate as well. Play time could be actual play, like attacking her bear, or it could be watching Daddy iron. Nursing and diaper changes are interspersed as needed, usually every two hours or so, especially immediately before and immediately after sleeping. She doesn't go for a walk every day, just some days. She will fall asleep pretty well in her stroller when all else has failed for the afternoon nap, which was really helpful last month. The period between her afternoon nap and bed time can be a little long as well, so a little catnap in her stroller around 5pm can be very helpful for refreshing her spirits. Usually, we start watching her for signs of tiredness and unhappiness after she's been awake for 2 hours or so. This last week has been going particularly well, which is nice all around.

Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 12/05/2005 04:55:00 PM   0 comments

Measuring cups? Nay, I say these be my toys.

posted by Ketan @ 12/04/2005 10:49:00 AM   0 comments

Daddy always brushes my hair so pretty after my bath.

posted by Ketan @ 12/03/2005 11:34:00 AM   0 comments

Hooray! It's me!

posted by Ketan @ 12/02/2005 09:51:00 AM   0 comments

Up close and personal.

posted by Ketan @ 12/01/2005 08:50:00 AM   0 comments